A Broken Halo
by InkStainedGhost
Summary: Chaos is dying, it's power soon to be gone forever. What can we do! There's little we can do! What will happen when it's gone? We'll be useless, defenceless. Nothing. There is one legend, one idea which could change that fate... But it should it happen, it could completely change our world, our existence, forever.
1. Prologue,

**Prologue, An Old Legend**

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><p><strong>Tick Tock<strong>

"_Can you sense it? Can you feel it?_

_This stillness in the trees, the deadness in the air, the fading light on the horizon._

_The air is shifting, times are changing, quicker than we imagine"_

High up on Angel island, Knuckles sat in his rightful place as guardian of the master emerald. His eyes shut tight as he felt the world around him, the movement of the earth, the whispers of nature. The quite murmurs of chaos.

**Tick Tock**

"_You know what this means don't you?_

_Long have our race feared this moment, this moment we dreaded would come"_

Knuckles stayed completely focused, he paid attention to nothing else, nothing was going to distract him.

He sat in total isolation, compete and utter focus so he could gain contact just once.

**Tick Tock**

"_Time is running out, the power that holds our world together is fading, dying out._

_Without it, we are nothing"_

Knuckles' body tensed, the sounds of the earth faded, the world around him slowed down.

Cautiously, Knuckles opened his eyes, the earth around him stopped, the bright colours of Angel island faded out into a light pastel colours, as if they were hazing out of existence. The wind stopped blowing, the trees stopped whispering, there was only him and emerald.

And one other visitor, in front of him was a faded, spirit like creature. One he knew all to well. Tikal.

Her ghostly figure stood before him, her orange quills flowed past her shoulders just like they always had, her outfit dating back to days of old was still the same pale beige and green skirt and top. She hadn't aged a day. He couldn't help but to smile slightly, it had been a long time.

"Long time no see" Knuckles said, his usual gruff voice tinged with the emotion of happiness.

"I agree" Tikal replied with a small smile "But this isn't the time for such greetings" The smile faded from both of them as the two of them turned to emerald, it's bright green colour glowing and fading like a heartbeat.

"We always knew this time would come, we just did not know that it would come so soon" Tikal uttered, denial and acceptance thought a battle on her tongue.

**Tick Tock**

Knuckles could sensed her anger, her soreness, her fear. As he felt them too, long ago, just before he became the last echidna, he had been told the power of the emeralds would eventually meet their demise.

But like many, he was arrogant, he didn't think, not even for second, that it would happen now, not in his lifetime anyway.

"You can feel it" Tikal stated "You can feel it dying can you not?"

Knuckles closed his eyes for a moment, trying to grasp the waves of the emerald, its dying, faint waves of power, of life.

"Yeah, I can feel it" Knuckles replied, he placed his hand gently on the emerald, almost as if he was comforting it, trying to heal it into good health once more.

"What can we do?" Knuckles almost pleaded to Tikal as he looked back at her, her expression showing despair, lost and turmoil.

"I wish I knew" Tikal croaked out "This problem is far greater than our capability"

"Then what can I do!?" Knuckles snapped, his dread starting to put pressure on him, his fists clenched almost battle ready, his head pumping with exasperation.

"Keep it safe" Tikal replied "Its last breaths must not fall into the wrong hands"

An uncanny silence swept through the two of them.

"If it does, then the hands of evil will hold the last power of chaos, and we will be hopeless"

**Tick Tock**

Knuckles fists loosened, a gulp of paranoia and anxiety fell down his throat.

"Don't worry Tikal, I'll die before it falls into the wrong hands" he replied with confidence, Tikal couldn't help but to smile.

"I admire your courage Knuckles" she admitted "I just hope those words will prove to be reality"

"They will" Knuckles assured "The last power of chaos will be ours, not Eggheads, not GUN's, ours, nothing will change that" Tikal smiled a touching smile, she approached Knuckles gently, cautious of whether or not to move. Carefully, she brought up her hand to Knuckles' cheek, knowing she could not physically touch him, her hand just hovered over his cheek, acting as thought she could really touch him, Knuckles reaching out to her hand in return.

"I trust you Knuckles, I always have and I always will"

**Tick Tock**

The two broke away from each other, it was almost time to say good-bye.

"What will happen" Knuckles began "When it dies out, what will chaos do?"

Tikal pondered for a moment, truthfully she did not know the answer fully, she could only go on legends, accounts.

"The most probable outcome will that any power still left will vanish leaving only the power that is being utilized" Tikal stated factually.

Another uncanny silence swept through the two.

"There is one legend though, one idea which may be the truth" Tikal thought out, slightly catching Knuckles attention "It explained how if chaos were to reach an end, instead of chaos itself dying, the emeralds would die, leaving chaos as its own entity, leaving it only to find another vessel to carry it"

"But this is just a legend Tikal" Knuckles sighed "We can't rely our hopes on an old legend"

"No" Tikal replied solemnly "But it is something"

"Yeah" Knuckles muttered in reply "Now, the clock is ticking, we haven't got much time left, all I have to think about is protecting the emerald at all costs"

"You can't fight this battle alone, your friends can help you in this, it is not your burden to bear alone" Tikal pleaded

"But it is Tikal, it is" Knuckles protested with a sigh, Tikal couldn't fight back, she knew how stubborn he was.

Their time together had now come to an end and Tikal started to fade out of existence, the sounds of Angel island began to slowly return

"Good-bye Knuckles and good luck, you have all my faith" Tikal echoed before fading completely out of existence.

Knuckles stood there, back on Angel Island, back in it's full colour and sounds, the sun set magnificently in front of him.

"Thank you Tikal" Knuckles rasped before taking back is rightful place as guardian once more.

**Tick Tock**

_Its last breaths must not fall into the wrong hands..._

**Tick Tock**

_the clock is ticking, we haven't got much time left..._

**Tick Tock**

_The emeralds would die... leaving it only to find another vessel to carry it..._

**Tick Tock**

_A legend, an idea..._

**Tick Tock, Tick Tock, **

_Time is running out!_

**Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock...**

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><p><strong>AN: HI EVERYONE! My new story has arrived hot off the imagination!**

**I can not say how excited I am for this! This is going to be my biggest project yet! I have so many ideas for this you can not believe! Main plot, subplots, character development, the lot!**  
><strong>I'm also working towards improving my writing style, as you can see, my prologue is a lot different to usual so some changes there <strong>

**Anyway, I hope you liked this prologue and until next time **


	2. Chapter 1, Dawn Brings No Bliss

**Chapter 1, Dawn Brings No Bliss**

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><p><em>It's funny, how unlikely events, unlikely assurances can bring together the most unlikely of people. And thanks to those events, it creates bond and ties that can be stronger than life itself. <em>

_A band of heroes for example, each holding their own unique trait, their own personality, their own story to tell. But all of them come together and form a team that is more powerful than anything. _

_This is clearly evident in the famous Freedom Fighters. The team brought together by a series of events, encounters and direction. In fact, the team would have never been brought together if it wasn't for sheer luck. _

_And boy did luck choose well..._

**~x~**

The sun rose like always on the horizon, dawn making its usual premier for the day ahead. Sonic watched on from his seat on top of the base. The base itself overlooked from the top of high face, where they could see from miles around, and when the sun hit the horizon just right, it set the sky alight in a multitude of reds, oranges and yellows.

It was rare for him to ever sleep indoors, he just felt trapped, and being used to his high speeds, it was just something that he couldn't stand.

He didn't mind staying outside though, well, how else would he be able to catch the first glimpse of the day?

Sonic sat on the roof in peace for goodness knows how long, until he received an unwanted wake-up call. Sonic flinched as a small rock hit his head; he picked up the small rock and turned around cautiously to find the culprit.

To his surprise, it was Tails. He looked up at Sonic with a cheerful grin and with a small amount of pride gleaming from his eyes.

"First time I hit you" Tails commented with a slight chuckle

"Really?" Sonic questioned with a smirk, he threw the rock back at Tails, who caught it in one go "Take two" Tails chuckled before regaining some focus to aim. His eye squinted slightly as he focused on Sonic, then in one movement, he threw the rock towards him.

But of course, Sonic had a trick up his sleeve, and before Tails could even blink, Sonic became a blur and stood next to him before the rock even landed on the roof.

"Oh well" Tails sighed, only to get brought into a light, friendly head lock from Sonic, the two chuckled at each other before Sonic released him and the two walked inside.

The base itself was quite simple, with little sections for training, a kitchen, bedrooms etc.. Simple, but it was all they needed. At the moment, it was Sonic, Tails, Sally and Bunnie were the ones who were currently residents in the base, and Nicole of course, not that she could really leave. The others were finding different paths of their own, Amy and Knuckles being the recent few to leave, Amy simply leaving to find a place of her own, while Knuckles left to carry on his duty as guardian. His need to return seeming more pressing than usual.

Sonic and Tails walked in to find Sally and Nicole talking, probably about news or events on the team. It didn't take long for Sally to notice the arrival of Sonic and Tails, a half-hearted smirk arose on her lips. She looked back at Nicole, said something that Sonic couldn't fully hear, Nicole nodded at Sally before flickering out of existence.

As Sonic and Tails approached Sally, she shook her head in slight annoyance, yet a hint of amuse was seen as well.

"Did Tails have to get you off the roof again?" she sighed

"I actually managed to hit him this time" Tails commented with a smile, causing Sally to chuckle slightly, soon the trio sat down, took a couple of bites for breakfast and settled down, waiting for day to kick off.

The morning silence settled in the room, dawn bringing light to the room.

After a few minutes of quiet, the last other remaining members of the freedom fighters came and joined the room.

"Mornin' y'all" Bunnie yawned as she stretched out her arms, her fur all messy from the bed. She flopped down on chair and started taking some lazy bites out of an apple.

"Tired?" Sonic commented with a slight smirk, only to have Sally hit him slightly in disapproval.

"You'd be tired, if ya'll spent last night training 'till ya back broke" Bunnie quipped back as she took another bite of her apple, this time with more aggression. Only to earn another cocky smirk from Sonic.

The base was more quite than ever now, with only four of them left, there wasn't much to talk about, nothing much to do, just the silence between the walls.

A break in the silence occurred as Nicole reappeared again and asked Sally to check some updates on the base system, Bunnie following her.

After a few moments of the two gone, Tails spoke out from the stillness.

"It's quiet now"

"The quiet is nice every now and again" Sonic replied, not looking back at his younger brother

"Not when it's all the time" Tails replied with a sad murmur. Sonic didn't reply, instead he got up from his chair and headed to follow in the direction Sally and Bunnie went.

"Come on, let's check out what the girls are doing" he said with a cheerfulness that practically screamed out it was fake. Tails nodded in response, he got out from his chair and the two brothers went to find Sally and Bunnie.

And that's how the day started, no change.

Everyday...

Without fail.

**~x~**

On the other side of Knothole, practically on the other side of Mobius itself, the day sprang up with the sound of a buzzing city starting the day. Amy, now living in Station Square, Metropolis, had started the day nice and early, she had gotten into a daily routine, now adjusted to her new life in the city. She would get up, have breakfast, get ready and head out the door by 7:00 sharp. From then she would head out to the university of Metropolis, now at the beautiful age of 18, she was able to do things she wouldn't have been able to do had she stayed with the freedom fighters. Well that's what she kept telling herself.

Her route to the university took her through the past buildings full of busy people starting their day, down narrow streets and across a bridge.

Amy particularly liked going across the bridge, it went across a river than went into the sea, it was quite a sight in itself already, but in the morning, when dawn was arising, it was a completely different story. The bright orange, red and yellow sun reflected off the water of the sea and river, making it look like as if the river contained a rainbow, waiting to be freed.

Somehow, it reminded Amy of the base, the freedom fighters, everyone. A part of her tightened as she felt that awful feeling, that feeling that feels like you can't breathe properly, as if your trapped, yet free as well.

Homesick.

Amy tried to shake it off with a frown; she wasn't going to feel like that, she didn't want to. She left for a reason, a reason she was going to stick by...

_"What do you mean you want to leave?!"_

_"I just... I just need to a break you know, only for a while"_

_"And how long is a while?! A week, a month, a year?!"_

_"I don't know, I just need sometime alone, you understand right?"_

_"No, I don't understand! What makes you want to leave, why would you want to!?"_

_"I need to find a use, a use for myself, something that I'm good at"_

_"But you're good here, you're useful here, you're intelligent, your cooking is like nothing else anyone here can do and I can't forget you on the battle field, come on Amy, you're useful here, you're good here"_

_"But that's the thing, I'm not... I have nothing, no power, no special trait; all I have is a great clunky hammer, that's it"_

_"Amy..."_

_"Don't; just don't even start saying all that bullshit, because it's wrong!"_

_"Ames, please, don't go, stay with us, we need you, more than you know"_

Amy was now at the university, having narrowly avoided a close encounter with some unwanted tears and bad memories; she put opened the door to the tall, shiny building and entered, greeting everyone there with a smile. There was one problem though.

Her smile was riddled with fictitious emotions, her life to people here, just one big lie.

**~x~**

Perhaps the biggest problem with being a super villain, if there were any, was the constant need to shock your enemy, to knock them off guard, to have them so shocked and startled and make them wonder how could such a mind even think of doing such a thing.

At least that was the problem for one Doctor Robotnik.

For months now, he hadn't thought up of any new plans, any new ideas that would ensure he would still remain a well recognised threat.

"At this rate, I'll be known as Eggwhat? Doctor Who?" Robotnik often muttered to himself while he passed around his base.

"Don't worry sir, soon an idea will come" his robot henchman cubot would often reply, earning him, more than once, a kick.

But his idea had not come and it was verging on the sixth month now, still nothing.

Eggman flopped tiredly in his chair, looking aimlessly at his computer, hoping to find a slight spark on inspiration. He sat there for moments on end, but unfortunately, much to his displeasure, no such luck came to him. Grudgingly, he lifted his heavy body back up, and started tapping away at his computer, checking for updates in surveillance, machinery, and all the usual technological things that would usually be in operation.

As he was checking all the machinery he owned, he noticed one particular one was not fully up to scratch as the others.

"Ultra Magnitude One is having difficulties with its energy supply" he noted "What could have caused that?" His curiosity now enticed, he got out from his chair and took a lift down to what he liked to call, the vault, where all his robots, machines and weapons lay, waiting to be used.

Ultra Magnitude One was his latest invention, being fully equipped with laser missiles, grenades, fire bombs, and of course, a particular little weapon known as a chaos bomb, one very similar to Shadow's own chaos blast.

It was no wonder a robot of this magnitude needed a lot of energy, supplied by a trusted chaos emerald.

Eggman reached to grab the emerald, which was locked safely in a airtight seal, in the heart of the robot, he looked at it closely, feeling the power from within it, there seemed to be a good amount of it left, still breathing, still living.

So why was Magnitude One having trouble absorbing its power?

After what seemed like hours of debating and analysing possible theories, Robotnik achieved something he hadn't achieved for a while.

An idea.

"Perhaps it cannot achieve the power from the emerald as the emerald is acting like some sort of shield to protect it" Eggman pondered, he started to pass around the vault, this time with reason, with an aim. "If that is the case then it must be possible somehow to extract the power from the emerald and hold as a physical entity, and of course, not just with this one, but with all of them as well!"

An evil smirk arose on the face of Doctor Robotnik, he had found his calling.

"Oh Eggman, you evil mastermind, I believe I have found my latest project" he congratulated himself. He walked to the lift, a confident and yet excited spring in his step. He arrived back to his computer, Cubot waiting, like always, by it, Eggman looked at the little henchman and told him with a maniacal look.

"We have lot of work to do"

**~x~**

Knuckles laid back against one of the heavy stone pillars surrounding the master emerald, it had been two months since he returned as his post as guardian, and he couldn't be more eager to do so.

Since his encounter with Tikal about three months ago, he had a horrible feeling in his gut that chaos would fall quicker if he was not there to guard it, protect it from the hands of evil. So since his arrival back on Angel Island, he hadn't left his spot, not once, he always remained near and around the emerald, practically sleeping with one eye open to ensure he always had a visual on it.

One thing he did not count on was the loneliness of it all, he was used to it at first, spending most of his life up on the Island, but then he met a certain blue hedgehog, and all that changed. He was part of team, he had friends, and suddenly he wasn't so lonely anymore.

But now, he was up here again, alone, in the silence of the island. Knuckles shook his head in irritation, now wasn't the time to start feeling emotional, he had a job to do, a promise to fulfil, and he was going to stick by that promise.

Knuckles watched as dawn arose on the island, the beautiful sunrise setting the emerald a light in a multitude of colours, the sun rays bouncing off of it. Knuckles let a smile of content; it was moments like these which proved to him that the island was a special place, a place that needed to be protected.

Then, just as Knuckles was at his most relaxed, he felt a horrible clench in his gut, as if a snake had wormed its way in and proceeded to tighten around his gut, getting tighter with every breath he took. Knuckles knew all too well this was a bad sign.

Danger was coming, and he was sure of it.


End file.
